ITV has announced it is cutting 120 jobs – about 3% of its UK workforce – as it seeks to save £25 million following the EU referendum.
The redundancies form part of a general belt-tightening by the broadcaster, which states that “political and economic uncertainty” is expected to hit the media industry in a post-Brexit slowdown.
In July, ITV told investors that advertising sales in August were expected to be down 7% and in September by as much as 10%. About half of the company’s revenues and most of its profits are drawn from advertising.
At the time, chief executive Adam Crozier said the £25m in overhead savings would come from across the business and could include job cuts.
Job losses will be split proportionately across all areas of the business, including advertising, programme commissioning, production and support staff. However, ITV does not plan to reduce its £1bn programming budget for this year or next, instead making savings off-screen.
On Monday, Prolific North reported that ITV Studios’ northern drama hub was being closed as part of the efficiency drive.
ITV has a UK workforce of about 3,500, employing about 6,000 people globally. It is thought staff outside the UK will be unaffected.
Adam Crozier announced the efficiency drive in July
“At a time of political and economic uncertainty in our key markets, it’s important that we are in the strongest possible position to continue to invest in our strategy and to meet any challenges and opportunities ahead, as we continue to grow a successful business,” an ITV spokesman said.
“We have taken costs out across ITV in a managed and sensible way over the last six years and we must continue to keep a tight control on spending to ensure that we are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible whilst maximising our ability to invest in the high quality programming that drives ITV’s success.”
In the first nine months of 2016, advertising revenue is forecast to be down 1% year on year, the company said. Media buyers predict the UK TV advertising market could be down by up to 2% this year.
Shares in ITV ended Monday up 0.5% at 171.9p.
